If Bicycles Ruled the Road

New Belgium Brewings Tour de Fat rolls into Denver today, bringing with it a whimsical bike parade, a killer music lineup and an estimated 10,000 people to the west end of City Park. And while beer will be flowing, the event transcends a keg party. Its about community-building and sustainability through cycling. People in costumes generally outnumber the under-dressed three to one. Skits, bike competitions and a car-for-bike swap are interwoven between acts by the Yo-Yo People, Dovekins and the Venezuelan dance band Los Amigos Invisibles.

The bicycle has a romance for people at different points in their life, says Tour de Fats spokesman Matt Kowal. When were kids, riding in our Underoos, its our first taste of freedom. Later, when were adolescents, its the quickest way to get to your girlfriends house. Then, when you dont have any time to get your heart rate up, theres that bike again.

Indeed, it was a love of pedal power that moved the Fort Collins-based brewing companys co-founder, Jeff Lebesch, to adventure through Belgium on a bicycle trip that inspired him to come home and brew, brew, brew. Its only fitting, then, that the company is hosting its twelfth year of a touring bike festival that will hit thirteen U.S. cities before the year is out.

The pro-bike (but not anti-car) event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but $5 is the suggested donation for parade participants; beer is $5 a pint. All proceeds benefit the BikeDenver and Denver Cruisers organizations. For more information, go to www.newbelgium.com.
Sat., Sept. 10, 2011